JPH1124803A - Detection method for suspend processing abnormality - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a detection method of the suspend processing abnormality for a battery-driven information processor to detect that a battery of the information processor is pulled out in a suspend processing mode and to display this fact to a user when the next reboot is started. SOLUTION: A battery-driven information processor which uses a secondary battery 207 when a primary battery 206 is replaced is provided at least with a lock lever which closes the cover of a store part of the battery 206, a detection means which detects the lock release of the lever and a means which detects the ON OFF states of a power switch 212. In such a constitution, a CPU 20 turns on a flag that holds the storage contents even when a power supply is turned off to start the suspend processing and then turns off the flag when the suspend processing is over based on detection of the OFF state of the switch 212 or the lock release. Then the CPU 20 shows the abnormal end of the suspend processing in the next reboot mode when the suspend processing does not end in a normal state due to a fact that the battery 206 is pulled out before the end of the suspend processing and the above flag is kept in its ON state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery-powered information processing apparatus, and more particularly to a portable terminal, a portable terminal, a notebook computer, a digital camera, and the like, which supplies a replaceable battery such as a dry battery or a rechargeable battery pack. The present invention relates to a method for detecting a suspend processing abnormality in an information processing apparatus serving as a source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a portable data processing device from which a power supply battery can be removed, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-219915 is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-163556 states that when the power battery begins to be released from a state where the power battery is locked at the proper position of the main device, the data processing that has been performed so far is terminated, and after the data processing is interrupted, the power battery is returned to the proper position of the main device. A configuration has been proposed in which, when locked, the interrupted data processing is continuously executed.

Conventionally, in this type of information processing apparatus,
When the battery is replaced, in addition to the main battery for operation, a secondary battery for backing up the data and the suspended state while the main battery is removed from the main unit for replacement in order to maintain the data and the suspended state. A method of mounting a battery is adopted.

[0004] The sub-battery mounted is for backing up the state of the system only for the time required for replacement of the main battery, so that the sub-battery has a capacity sufficient to supply power capable of completely driving the device, like the main battery. Is not necessary, and assuming that the device is a suspend device, the capacity of the memory and the capacity of the power supply enough to allow the CPU to suspend the peripheral circuits, that is, maintain the state when the execution is interrupted, is maintained. Things are selected. For this reason, the switching of the power supply from the main battery to the sub-battery must be performed after the device is completely shifted from the normal operation state to the suspend state.

[0005] As a mechanism for replacing the main battery after the transition to the suspend state is surely completed, the power supply from the main battery to the sub-battery is immediately switched by turning off the power switch. Rather than performing the operation, the user turns off the power switch with the CPU.
Function as means for notifying that FF
After recognizing that the power switch is OFF, there is a method in which the process of shifting to the suspended state is started, and then the power supply source is switched to the sub-battery.

In this case, the time required for the transition process to the suspend state is longer than the time from when the user turns off the power switch to when the lid of the main battery storage of the apparatus is opened and the main battery is removed. It is assumed to be short enough.

As a measure against the case where a user accidentally removes the battery without turning off the power switch during operation of the apparatus, the lid of the main battery storage is opened.
By providing a mechanism for the CPU to detect as in the case of the power switch, when detecting that the lid has been opened, the process of automatically shifting to the suspend state is started, and after the user opens the lid, A method is adopted in which the transition to the suspended state is completed within the time required for the operation until the operation of removing the main battery is performed.

[0008]

The above two conventional methods use the above-described battery-powered information processing apparatus after the user turns off the power switch or turns off the power.
The problem that the transition to the suspend state of the device cannot be completed within the time required for the operation from opening the lid of the main battery storage unit to removing the main battery without performing FF occurs. Have a point.

The reason for this is that even in a battery-driven information processing apparatus, a transition to a suspend state has recently occurred due to factors such as the fact that a GUI (graphical user interface) and multitask processing have been performed. This is because the amount of input / output information to be held increases, and the processing time for shifting to the suspend state has become longer.

[0010] As a measure against such a problem,
In guides and manual notes on the screen display,
Although the user is notified of a state in which the battery must not be removed, erroneous operation of the user cannot be completely prevented.

If the transition to the suspend state of the apparatus is not completed within the time required for the user to open the lid of the main battery storage unit and perform the operation of removing the main battery, the apparatus operates normally. The supply from the main battery to the sub-battery is switched without being reliably performed after the transition from the state to the suspend state is completed, and the data on the memory and the CPU are suspended in the peripheral circuit, that is, the state in which the execution is suspended. Power switch ON because
Resume of time becomes impossible.

In such a case, measures such as automatic rebooting are taken in order to continue the operation. However, if the reboot is performed, the data cannot be guaranteed, and the subsequent work may be affected. It is necessary to display a warning to the user. If the system goes out of control or stalls occur, a reset may cause a reboot without performing a normal shutdown.In this case as well, an error will occur in the file system, etc., and normal operation will occur. A warning to the user is necessary because it may not be possible. However, since this warning is caused by a failure or a failure of the system, it is necessary to distinguish the warning message from the above-described warning message at the time of the reboot due to the erroneous operation of the user.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to detect when a battery is drained during a suspend process and to notify the user at the next reboot start. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of detecting an abnormality in a suspend process of an information processing apparatus that indicates the fact.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery-driven information processing apparatus in which a sub-battery is used when a main battery for driving the apparatus is replaced. A lever for locking the lid of the battery storage unit in a closed state, detection means for detecting unlocking of the lever, and means for detecting on / off of a power switch;
At least, based on the detection of the power switch is turned off or unlocked, the CPU, when starting the suspend process, turns on the flag that retains the stored content even when the power is off, and turns off the flag when the suspend process ends, When the suspend process does not end normally due to the main battery being removed before the suspend process ends, and the flag remains in the on state, and at the time of the next reboot, a message indicating that the suspend process has ended abnormally is displayed. It is characterized by.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the embodiment of the present invention, a lock release lever for preventing the battery lid of the housing of the device from being opened carelessly, and a lever release detecting means for detecting that the lock is released by the lock release lever. A lever release detection interrupt generation circuit for notifying the CPU that the lock of the battery lid has been released, and a power switch detection interrupt generation circuit for notifying the CPU of the open / close state of the power switch. When the power switch is OFF and when the battery cover is unlocked, the CPU detects these states, writes a flag indicating that the suspend process is being performed to the backup memory, and then starts the suspend process.
When the suspend is completed normally, the flag is deleted,
At the next start-up, by checking the value of the flag, it is determined whether or not the suspend process is abnormally interrupted, and when an abnormal suspend of the suspend process is detected, a warning is displayed on the display device. Things.

If the user removes the main battery before the completion of the suspending process, the flag remains written because the suspending process is interrupted without the normal completion of the suspending process. In this state, when the main battery is replaced and restarted, the CPU checks the flag, and if the flag is on, warns and displays on the display device that the suspend process has ended abnormally. Therefore, the user or the maintenance staff can perform maintenance work such as inspection of the file system before operating the system.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in the device 1, output information is output to a display device 2, and a message is displayed on the screen of the display device 2 even when the suspend is abnormally terminated. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes various interfaces such as an earphone jack, and various devices are connected via this interface. Reference numeral 4 denotes a battery storage unit in which a battery is stored. Reference numeral 41 denotes a lock release lever for removing the lid of the battery storage unit 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes a power switch, which, when pressed, performs a suspend state in which the battery can be replaced from a start state or a resume process for returning from the suspend state.

FIG. 2A shows the battery storage unit 4 shown in FIG.
2 (b) is a side view as seen from the XX 'side of the lid of the main battery storage unit, and FIG. 2 (c) is a view from the YY' side of the lid of the main battery storage unit. It is the side view seen.

When the lock is released by the lock release lever 41, it is detected by the lever release detection mechanism 42. When the lock release lever 41 is released, the main battery storage lid 43 is released.
Is removed, and the battery 44 is taken out. The main battery housing cover 43 is provided with a lock groove 47. In the figure, when the lock release lever 41 is moved rightward, the member in the lock groove 47 of the lever 41 comes off the groove 47 and the lever 41 is released, and the lever release detection mechanism 42
Detects that the lever is released, and moves the lever 41 to the left to position the lid 43 in the lock groove 47 of the lid 43, and the lid 43 is locked.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the apparatus of this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the apparatus comprises a CPU 20
1. Lever release detection interrupt generation circuit 20 that is connected to main memory 202, backup memory 203, backup battery 204, power supply device 205, and lever detection mechanism 209 and generates an interrupt to CPU 201 upon detection of lever release.
8, a power switch detection interrupt generation circuit 208 which is connected to the display device 210 and the power switch 212 and generates an interrupt to the CPU 201 upon detection of ON / OFF. The power supply device 205 includes a main battery 206 and a sub-battery 207 that supply normal power. Normally, the device is operated by the main battery 206. However, when the main battery 206 is not provided or is removed, the device is operated by the sub-battery 207. However, the capacity of the sub-battery 207 is small and can be used only at the time of suspending. The display device 210 of FIG. 3 corresponds to the display device 2 of FIG. 1, and the power switch 212 of FIG.
It corresponds to.

When the release state of the lock release lever is detected by the lever release detection mechanism 209, the CPU 201 is interrupted via the lever release detection interrupt generation circuit 208 by the CPU 201.
Will be notified.

In response to this interrupt, the CPU 201 starts the suspend process and turns on the flag in the backup memory 203. The backup memory 2
03 is stored in the backup battery 204.

The user suspends and resumes when the power switch 212 is pressed, and the power switch detection interrupt generation circuit 211 notifies the CPU 201 of the interruption by an interrupt. Upon receiving the interrupt, the CPU 201 performs the corresponding processing (for example, when the power switch is turned on). Resume processing etc.)
I do. If a flag indicating that the suspend has failed is set to ON in the backup memory 203, an error message to that effect is displayed on the display device 210.

When the apparatus is started (when the power is on), the suspend processing is performed in the following cases.

(1) When the power switch 5 is pressed.

(2) When the remaining battery power is low.

(3) When the lock release lever 41 is released.

Of these, the suspending process is performed when the lock release lever 41 of the above (3) is released. Usually, when the battery is suddenly removed, it is not known what will happen, such as file destruction. This is to prevent the occurrence of a failure by suspending when the data is extracted.

When the battery is removed when the battery is not in the suspend state, the battery release cover 43 is removed, so that the lock release lever 41 is always released.

In this embodiment, this lever release is detected by the lever detection mechanism, and the lever release detection interrupt generation circuit 20 is used.
8 notifies the CPU 201 of the interruption, whereby the suspend process is started. Actually, the main battery storage unit cover 4
Since there is some time before the main battery 3 is removed, if the suspending process is performed between the time when the lever 43 is released and the time when the lid 43 is removed and the battery is removed, even if the main battery is suddenly removed. Failures are reliably avoided.

When the power switch of (1) is pressed, the CPU 201 is notified by an interrupt from the power switch detection interrupt generation circuit 211, and preparation for the suspend process is started. When the remaining battery power in (2) is low, the power supply device 205 is supplied from the main battery 206.
The battery supply information is transmitted to the CPU 201, and the power supply device 205 transmits the battery remaining information to the CPU 201. When the CPU 201 determines that the remaining battery power is low, the CPU 201 starts preparing for a suspend process.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, when detecting that the power switch is turned off or unlocked (YES branch of step S1), CPU 201 starts preparing for the suspend process, and sets a suspend flag in backup memory 203 before shifting to the suspend process. It is set to ON (step S2).

The CPU 201 starts the suspending process to save the environment (step S3), and when the suspending process is about to end (for example, when only the suspending process of the CPU 201 itself remains), the backup memory 203 is restored. The suspend flag is turned off (step S4).

When the power switch is turned on and a flag is set in the backup memory 203 at the time of reboot, the display device 210 indicates that the battery has been removed before the completion of the suspend.
Will be displayed as a message. The contents of the backup memory 203 are stored in the backup battery 2 when the power is turned off.
04, and retains the memory.

In this embodiment, during the suspend process,
If the battery is removed when the suspend process is not completed due to sudden battery wiping, a flag is set in the backup memory 203, and the display device 210 is restarted at the next reboot.
A message indicating that the suspend processing has been abnormally terminated is displayed.

On the other hand, when the system is shut down due to a failure such as a runaway or a stall, a flag is not set in the backup memory 203. Therefore, even if the system is rebooted, a message indicating abnormal termination of the suspend operation is not displayed.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the battery is drained during the suspend process, an effect that the suspend process is abnormally terminated can be displayed to the user at the next reboot. Then, in the present invention, the suspend processing abnormal end message can also be determined as a reboot due to shutdown at the time of failure such as system runaway and stall, so that accurate information can be provided to the user, and as a result, convenience of the apparatus and Improve reliability.

The reason is that, in the present invention, the flag of the backup memory is not turned off unless the suspend processing is normally completed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a battery storage unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body 2 Display device 3 Various I / F (Interface) 4 Battery storage part 5 Power switch 41 Lock release lever 42 Lever release detection mechanism 43 Main battery storage lid (top view) 44 Battery 45 Main battery storage lid (side view 1) 46) Main battery storage lid (side view 2) 47 Lock groove 201 CPU 202 Main memory 202 Backup memory 204 Backup battery 205 Power supply device 206 Main battery 207 Secondary battery 208 Lever release detection interrupt generation circuit 209 Lever release detection mechanism 210 Display Device 211 Power switch detection interrupt generation circuit 212 Power switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A battery-driven information processing apparatus using a sub-battery when replacing a main battery for driving the apparatus, wherein a lever for locking a lid of a main battery storage unit for storing the main battery in a closed state; A detection unit that detects unlocking of the lever; and a unit that detects on / off of a power switch. When the CPU starts a suspend process based on the detection of the turning off or unlocking of the power switch, the CPU turns off the power. The flag for retaining the stored contents is turned on even when the power is off, and the flag is turned off when the suspend process is completed. The suspend process is not completed normally because the main battery is removed before the suspend process is completed. Displaying a message indicating that the suspend processing has been abnormally terminated when the state is maintained or when the next reboot is performed. How to detect pending processing abnormalities. 2. A CPU, a main memory, a display device, a main battery and a sub-battery, a backup memory, a backup battery for the backup memory, and a battery power of one of the main battery and the sub-battery. A power supply device to be supplied; a power switch; a power switch detection interrupt generation circuit for notifying the CPU of the open / closed state of the power switch; and respective batteries in a main battery and a sub-battery storage section of the device housing. An information processing device having a lid for replacing the lock, a lock release lever for preventing the lid from being opened carelessly, and a lever release detecting means for detecting that the lock is released by the lock release lever. And a lever release detection interrupt generation circuit for notifying the CPU that the lock of the lid has been released. At the time of F, and at the time of unlocking the lid, the CPU detects these states, writes a flag indicating that a suspend process is being performed to the backup memory, starts the suspend process, and completes the suspend normally. At the next start-up, the value of the flag is checked to determine whether or not the suspend processing has been abnormally interrupted. When an abnormal suspend of the suspend processing is detected, a warning is issued to the display device. Is displayed, and a method for detecting an abnormality in a suspend process is provided.